21 Sept 10

IBM offered to buy data analytics company Netezza Corp for $1.7 billion, the latest deal to emerge from a recovering tech sector, to expand its technology services business and help clients better analyze market information. Monday’s announcement comes as International Business Machines Corp is shifting its focus from increasingly commoditized hardware to higher-margin software and services, particularly analytics, which help clients analyze market data to plot trends or prevent fraud. The deal values Netezza at $27 per share, a 9.8 percent premium from Friday’s closing price of $24.60. The stock rose 15.2 percent to $28.50 late Monday afternoon, with some analysts saying a rival bidder could emerge considering the recent surge in technology acquisitions. The deal also raised speculation that other data analytics firms such as Teradata Corp could be targeted next. Read More »

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Retail giant Wal-Mart Stores Inc (WMT.N) plans to expand the use of renewable energy in its stores by installing thin-film solar panels in up to 30 of its locations. This would be first time that Wal-Mart, which already has solar installations in 31 other sites in California and Hawaii, would use thin-film solar technology to generate power. “Until now, all of our solar projects have been with traditional crystalline panels,” a Wal-Mart spokeswoman said in an email statement. The solar systems, which will be installed in up to 30 sites in California and Arizona, will supply up to 20 to 30 percent of the total energy needs for each location, the company said. Wal-Mart has a broad goal to one day use only renewable energy and create zero waste. The retail giant has embarked on a number of green initiatives in the past year, including increasing its use of solar power and announcing plans to roll out an index that will measure the environmental impact of the products it sells in its stores. Read More »

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Living conditions in the athletes’ village for next month’s Commonwealth Games in New Delhi have “shocked” the majority of teams, the head of the multi-sport event’s international governing body said. “Many nations that have already sent their advanced parties to set up within the village have made it abundantly clear that, as of the afternoon of Sept. 20, the Commonwealth Games village is seriously compromised,” Michael Fennell, president of the Commonwealth Games Federation, said today in a statement. “Significant operational matters remain unaddressed.” While the so-called international zone and main dining area have been praised, deadlines for the completion of the village are constantly being pushed out, Fennell added. High security around the site is “slowing progress and complicating solutions,” he said. Read More »

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The four major Atlantic hurricanes that spun toward the Caribbean in the past month were fueled by record warm seas and formed in an unprecedented 20 days. With 10 weeks left in the hurricane season, more may be coming. The storms that were born off west Africa gathered strength by absorbing the ocean’s heat and swelled into Category 4-level hurricanes on the 5-step Saffir-Simpson scale. While none hit land at full speed, each packed winds of at least 131 miles (210 kilometers) an hour, stronger than Katrina’s Category 3 winds when it devastated New Orleans at the end of August in 2005. As Igor churned past Bermuda yesterday and cut power to two-thirds of the colony’s residents, a new storm threatens to form in the east Atlantic. Read More »

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The Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) has presented photo evidence of a stray dog jumping on a bed in the Games Village. The CGF now wants all stray dogs to be removed from the Village site. CNN-IBN has access to the details of the meeting between the delegates and the organizers of the Commonwealth Games, where the delegates raised questions about the unfinished projects of the Games Village. The meeting, which took stock of the progress of various unfinished projects, also deliberated on the shortcomings pointed out by Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) President Michael Fennell about the Games village, said top officials. Read More »